a/n: Again, you can all beat me up for how long I took to get this up. And I apologize for it, because it was quickly beta'd so I'm sure there are even more grammatical errors than usual. On the plus side, it's pretty long. On the minus side, it's pretty long. Enjoy!

Oh there's one or two chapters left in this thing, so I'd like to thank everyone for sticking with it! I'll try to have the next chapter up in a few days.

Chapter 9: Crystal Ball

Rain poured outside as Spinner Mason lay on the counter at The Dot, bored out of his mind.

He was working alone, but it didn't matter since there was no one in the restaurant anyway. Although it was Friday night, it seemed like everyone had wisely taken cover for the storm in their own homes. He even got the call from his manager to close shop early since he had only had one customer the entire night.

He picked up his cell phone and sat up, reflexively dialling Darcy's number, but stopped himself as the thunder outside shook the walls.

Darcy. The 'one', the girl who he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with. Of course, he had thought that about all his girlfriends, but that wasn't the point. Darcy was different. While Manny was unpredictable and Paige was familiar, Darcy was comfortable.

He was afraid though. The past year he needed this comfort but now summer was coming to an end and all his broken bonds had been mended. He hated to admit it, but maybe he didn't need her. When she got off the bus and greeted him, he expected to be nervous, to feel butterflies, to feel love when he would finally see her face. Instead he almost felt indifferent. It had been good to see her, but he didn't feel the same desire he had once had.

As strange as it was, Paige and Alex had become his model for the kind of relationship he was looking for. No, he wasn't gay, but they had something unconditional, without any logic, but regardless, made sense. He was happy for them. He didn't think it was possible, especially since his one night stand with Paige sparked a fleeting moment of hormone-based feelings. They had everything he wished he had, aside from the part that they had stupidly broken up.

Marco and Hazel's plan was the perfect way to get them back together, and he did his best to make it happen. He tried to be the mastermind behind it, when in actuality, the things he did to help the others wasn't working out in his favour.

He gave Marco the idea to visit Alex the night after the bet was made (and apparently Marco pushed her far enough that she didn't talk to him for a week). He stole Paige away from Alex after Craig's show, allowing Alex and Craig to talk outside (but surprise surprise, neither Paige nor Alex had even noticed Craig's song). On the same night he distracted Jimmy and Marco from finding Ellie, leading Paige and her to have their heart to heart (a conversation that Ellie described as being as painful as a Kwan exam). He helped Hazel foot the bill to her Palex movie date (a date that ended as soon as it began), he gave Jimmy the idea to call Natalie when he was having trouble with coming up with ideas (unfortunately he didn't see that Natalie loved the ladies just as much as he did), and when Dylan was having an ethical crisis with the bet, he suggested he get to know Alex before judging it. With what happened to Dylan and Alex, Spinner could chalk it up as a victory, but it happened a few days ago and there was still no sign of any hook-up.

Hell, the only person he didn't help was Jay (but that's because Jay was an idiot who deserved to lose $20).

Jay had a habit of ruining every life he touched. Ask any girl down at the ravine, any dealer within a ten mile radius, anyone. Jay was no good, and if there was anyone who had suffered more than he, it was Alex.

For Spinner, before Darcy, before Manny, before Paige, and even before Terri, there was Alex. His first official crush, at the tender age of thirteen. She was a different Alex back then, of course. Pre-Jay Hogart she was quiet and kept to her self, but still brutal.

He remembered the first time he saw her. She was sitting alone on the bottom steps of Degrassi, on his first day of grade eight. She was easily the prettiest girl he had ever seen in real life (you know, his locker babes were way too hot to ignore). Her long brown hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, her mouth set in a thin line. Her jeans were scuffed up, and her black shirt looked like it had undergone a few too many washes. In a sea of polished kids, all wearing their new school clothes, she probably looked drab. But Spinner saw something more. With her dark brown eyes focused on the ground, she looked like she desperately wanted to be anonymous, invisible almost. She was a girl who had grown up too fast, a girl with too many odds against her.

And although she looked like she wanted to be left alone, being rational thirteen year old boy that he was, he decided to talk to her. He was Gavin 'Spinner' Mason, second most popular boy in grade eight (Jimmy Brooks being most, obviously). It was his duty to introduce himself to the pretty new girl.

He barely sat down before she said, "That seat's taken."

He shook his head awkwardly, surprised by the fact that she had even noticed him. "W-what?"

"The seat is taken." She crossed her arms, her eyes leaving the ground but focusing everywhere but him.

"It's not even a seat."

"So?"

"What's your name?" he asked, stubbornly sitting anyway.

"Alex." She finally met his stare, and it nearly winded him. From far away, she was pretty. This close, she was beautiful.

"Um, nice. Uh, Alex…that's a pretty name. I'm Ga-erm, Spinner," he said, coughing at bit. He was testing out a new nickname, and if he wanted it to catch on, he might as well start with the new kids. "I'm Spinner," he said clearer.

"Your parents must really hate you," she said as the first bell rang.

Spinner, confused, scratched his head as she rolled her eyes at his cluelessness. From a distance he heard Paige Michalchuk, who seemed to have been watching Spinner's feeble attempt at flirting. Spinner gulped as she sauntered over, living up to the word 'hottie' that appeared across her shirt.

"Welcome to Degrassi, I'm Paige," she said, sticking out her hand for Alex to shake. Which she didn't, of course. Paige detracted her hand, unimpressed.

"You'll have to forgive Spinner," she tried again, her smile faltering slightly. "My friend Terri's deluded him into thinking he's hotter than he actually is."

Alex looked Paige up and down, and Spinner gulped once more, afraid of how she was going to respond. "What's your excuse?" she said, motioning to her top.

Paige huffed, her hands on her hips. Spinner could actually feel anger radiate off her. "And here I was, bothering myself with some freak new kid who's wearing second hand clothes. Come on Spinner, let's go."

Paige made Spinner vow with her to never speak to her again as they entered the school.

Of course, they both had broken that vow, Spinner becoming semi-friends with her when he was friends with Jay, and Paige…well, that went without saying.

If his 13 year old self had known that their first encounter would prelude into something romantic, his brain probably would've exploded from the mere thought of it.

But now, he could see it. They'd grown up to become perfect for each other. Paige wasn't nearly as high maintenance and she seemed to have found a conscious along the way. Alex still had her walls up, but she slowly allowed Paige to get past it.

He didn't usually like thinking about that day; he couldn't help but blush at the memory of the first time he was ever shot down by a girl. But she never mentioned it; he doubted she even remembered.

The wind chimes clanged as the door to The Dot opened.

Speak of the devil…

"Hey Mason," Alex said breathlessly, her hair soaking. Even though he didn't like her that way, he had to admit that even without makeup and dripping from the rain, Alex was one of the hottest girls he had ever seen…in life.

"You didn't swim here, did you?" he joked, knowing full well that Alex had no sense of humour when it came to him.

"Ha-ha," she laughed humourlessly. "Gimme a coffee to go. Oh, and you got one of those chocolate cheesecakes?"

"Yeah; a slice? I've got a whole one in the back freezer if you want."

"Um, whole thing, I guess." She took a seat at the bar then shook her head, attempting to dry herself.

"Want a towel?" he asked, laughing at her. She glared, and mumbled something like, "get my stuff, asshole." Being a man who aims to please, he did as he was told.

Spinner quickly got the cake from the back and brought it up to the front. Thankful that he hadn't already dumped the pot of coffee, he poured her a cup. "One cream and six sugars, right?"

"It's creepy how you remember that," she said, accepting the cup as Spinner bagged the cake.

"Well you're the only person who orders a drop of coffee with their sugar."

"How much?" she asked impatiently. Spinner didn't want to cause any more conflict with her and rang up the till.

"$11.50."

"Thanks," she said, throwing her money down on the table. "See you around."

She quickly made her way to the door. As her hand reached the handle, thunder boomed loudly, causing her to jump. Spinner did his best to keep from laughing.

"Scared?"

"Shut up. It just surprised me," she defended feebily.

"Mmhmm."

She pushed the door open then quickly closed it again. The water was coming down harder than before. "Okay, I guess I'll wait," she mumbled.

"Did you bus here?" he asked, watching her from behind the counter.

"No, I rode a squirrel." She unenthusiastically took a seat on the stool.

"I'm closing in a couple minutes," he said, ignoring her sarcasm. "I could give you a ride home or something?"

"Umm. Sure. This doesn't mean we're friends though."

Spinner smirked and started wiping down the counters. "I guess that means 'thank you'?"

"I guess." She gave him an awkward half-smile that didn't reach her eyes as she crossed her arms over the counter. He fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers, looking out the window. The storm was slowly starting to calm down, at least.

"So, an entire cake all for yourself," he said, trying to make conversation.

"Well I'm a growing young lady."

"Usually people wanna grow vertically, not horizontally."

"Whoa, know difference between the two?"

"And I can tell left from right!" he cheered. Alex laughed, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Paige likes chocolate cheesecake, doesn't she?" he asked. He went to sit on the stool beside her and mimicked her position, leaning against the counter.

"Do you have a diary somewhere that has everyone in Degrassi's food preferences?" she snapped.

Spinner didn't like where this was going, but he wasn't exactly going to let her off easy. "Party?"

"Not really."

"One Tree Hill marathon?"

"God no."

"Help me out here…" he said, motioning with his hand for her to continue.

"She's leaving for Banting on Sunday, and Marco and Hazel and her are coming over to my fleapit apartment to 'celebrate.'" She said the last part with air quotes then let out a poorly suppressed sigh.

"Hmm." He faced her, and she tensed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Just….nothing." He knew he was pushing her buttons so he tread carefully. "You just don't seem very excited for her…"

"I'm extremely happy for her," she exasperated. "Why wouldn't I be? She's my friend. Banting is her dream. She deserves it."

"And your dream is her."

Alex rolled her eyes. "I don't know what my dream is, Oprah."

"Do you love her?"

Instead of answering, she showed him a crude gesture with her arm and fist.

"Do you love her?" he asked again.

"Do you love her?" she repeated playfully.

"Nice Alex, JT give you pointers on how to be funny?"

She glared and shook her head.

"Look, screw your stupid ride, I better go if I wanna catch the next bus." Her feet barely touched the ground as thunder froze her in her spot. Spinner noticed her shiver as she reluctantly sat back down. "Damnit."

"You okay?"

"…I don't like storms," she admitted.

"Why'd you come out then?"

She opened her mouth and quickly closed it, repeating this a few times before turning red. "Paige likes chocolate cheesecake," she mumbled.

"Though so," he grinned. "She tends to do that to people; get them whipped and all. And damn, you two aren't even dating. Who are you, Hazel?"

"Shut up."

"Your comebacks are definitely Hazel-ish."

"Why are you such a moron?" she asked, not even bothering to hide her fright when lightning flashed.

"You're the moron. You love Paige and you're sitting here, alone with her ex-boyfriend, scared shitless over a little rain, and she's leaving."

"It's not 'a little' rain." Before Spinner had the chance to react, she stopped him. "Spinner, I know about the bet."

His heart skipped a few beats as he went into a little panic. "What?"

"Marco and Hazel's 'Palex Plan' – yeah, I found it a couple days ago when I was helping the guy pack. You'd think he'd hide it in a better place. His sock drawer – smart."

Spinner sighed. This was definitely not good. "Does Paige know?"

"No. I dunno if I'll tell her. I think it's kind of sweet, how much all of you guys care. Even Jay. Of course, you're all trying to get a shitload of money out of it, so you guys could just be really selfish and clever about it. Makes sense, though. I could write a book with all the inspirational speeches everyone's been giving," she laughed. She faced Spinner and placed her hand on his arm. "But the thing is, your day already past. A while ago. So why are we having this conversation?"

He shrugged. "I want my friends to be happy."

"Come on, I wouldn't exactly call what we have a friendship." She let go.

He shrugged, slightly hurt by what she just said but shrugging it off. "You know, when you two would come in here on your dates or whatever, I'd watch you."

"Creepy, am I gonna like this story?" Alex said, smiling a little. Spinner smiled back, thankful that she trying to lessen the tension.

"I just…I dunno, it was hard not to. Not because you're both girls," he said, hands up in the air, "although some guys did watch you 'cause of that. But I dunno. I noticed you two 'cause of way you looked at each other. Sometimes it made me jealous…not that I have feelings for Paige – or you for that matter – just…You were happy. And it didn't matter if you were both girls or that everywhere you went people would talk. It just seemed like you didn't care. You had everything I wish I had with Darcy."

"And then I had to go and fuck it up," she laughed sadly.

"You didn't fuck it up. She still loves you."

"So I've heard. From you. From Marco, from Dylan, from Hazel, from some random nine year old who lives in my building…"

"It's true. Trust me, I've basically known her since birth."

"Why does everyone think the answer to all my problems is Paige?" Alex asked, giving a frustrated sigh. She rested her head in her arms against the counter.

"We don't. But we know she can help."

"I know she can," she said. "But I wish she couldn't."

"Let her."

"I don't deserve her," she said, her voice muffled into her arms.

"What?"

"Don't make me say it again; it's not exactly something I'm happy about."

"Jay really fucked you up if you believe that."

"It's not Jay. It's me. My shit life. Paige deserves someone who can take care of her, buy her a big house, have 2.1 children with and golden retriever. And me? Fucked up, poor, broken home, petty thief, pot head, alcoholic mother, father who I haven't seen since I was four, want me to carry on?"

"How about stupid, blind, gutless, afraid of getting what she truly deserves. Want me to carry on? You and her were meant to be, and this is coming from a friend, not some perverted rock star, or some jaded ex-boyfriend, or some friend who's obsessed with playing cupid. I don't want the bet money, and I've obviously already lost, but I don't care 'cause you two should be together already."

"Aren't you supposed to be telling me not to go for it? She told me that you wanted to get back with her after…yeah."

He shrugged. "I'm not in love with Paige. And what happened was…stupid. Extremely stupid."

"You're just saying that 'cause you were shit in bed, that's probably why she didn't want to get back with you," she teased.

"Well you'll never find out," Spinner answered, equally playfully. "Promise me you'll tell her how you feel before she leaves. 'Cause Marco and Hazel will both explode if you two don't hook up again. Not to mention all the pissed people who lost $20."

She shook her head and sighed. "Whatever." Her blush and slight smile told Spinner that she would.

Spinner lightly put his arm around her. "Good. Because as much as you don't want me to, I like you. And I like Paige. And I like it when two people I like are happy," he smiled.

She smiled back then looked out the window. "Yay. The world didn't end," she said quietly.

Spinner followed her eyes and saw the rain had become a drizzle. He picked up her bags for her. "Let's get outta here?" he said.

"Yeah. Um, thanks for…the talk. I guess."

"No problem." He handed his umbrella to her. "We should hang out again some time," he suggested, pushing the door open for her.

"You wish, Mason."